TECHNICAL WRITING GUIDELINES
The Research Proposal
A plan on how the study will be undertaken
It describes the steps that will be followed in the conduct of the study from
problem identification to data analysis
Like a map, it serves as a guide fro the researcher in the implementation
of the study
Includes the first three chapters (1,2,3) of a research paper
Written in the future tense
Printed and submitted before the oral presentation and defense
Characteristics of a well-written proposal:
o Clear, Complete, Persuasive, Flexible
The Research Report
Written to present the results of the study
It includes the first three chapters and the last two chapters (1,2,3,4,5) of a
research paper
Written in the past tense
Must be presented in a research colloquium
Printed and bounded at the University Book Center before submission
Submitted as a requirement for the course
o Preliminary Section or Pages
Title Page
Approval Sheet (only with research report)
Acknowledgement (only with research report)
Abstract (only with research report)
Table of Contents
List of Figure/s
List of Table/s
List of Appendices
o Text or Body
Chapter 1 – THE PROBLEM
Introduction
Theoretical and/or Conceptual Framework
Research Paradigm
Statement of the Problem
Hypothesis/es
Significance of the Study
Scope and Limitations
Definition of Terms
Chapter 2 – REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES
Introduction
Body (by theme or topic)
Summary or Conclusion
Chapter 3 – RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Design
Research Setting
Respondents and Sampling Procedure
Data Gathering Instrument/s (to include validity and
reliability process)
Scoring Procedure/s
Data Gathering Procedure
Statistical Tools
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Chapter 4 – PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA
Descriptive Analysis
Inferential Analysis
Chapter 5 – SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND
RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary of the Study Findings
Conclusions and/or Implications
Recommendations
o End Section or Reference Materials
Bibliography
Appendices
Curriculum Vitae
Technical Writing Aspect
o Style and format follows the American Psychological Association
(APA) and the XU format
o Font type Century Gothic or Arial, font size 12
o Double spacing
o Margins – (left, top, bottom) 1.5 inch, (right) 1.2 inch
o Justify the paragraphs, indention 1 tab or on the 4th line
o Capitalization of words only for: title of the study, preliminary section
headings, chapter headings, end section headings
o Do not “bold” the words in the text, except for the preliminary
section headings, chapter headings and paragraph titles, end
section headings
o No underlining of words
o No italizing of words in the text, except for run-in quotations (which is
written in single space)
o Preliminary Section Headings and Chapter Headings in the middle
of the page
o Paragraph titles in the left part of the page
o Page numbers of Preliminary Section follow small roman numeral
format and are written at the bottom center of each page
o Page numbers of the Body and References Sections follow Arabic
format and are written on right top portion of each page
o No page numbers on the title page and the first page of each
chapter
o Always use the 3rd person pronoun (we, you and I are not allowed)
Title Page/Cover Page
o Includes the title of study, the requirement headings, name of
school, the course on which the paper is a requirement (Nursing
Research for the proposal – Bachelor of Science in Nursing for the
research report), the names of the researchers in alphabetical
order, and month and year of submission
o Title must be written as much as possible in one line; but when more
than one line is needed, it follows the inverted pyramid format, not
more than 20 words
Approval Sheet
o Provides space for signatures of the research mentor or adviser, oral
defense panelists, research instructor, and college dean, indicating
their acceptance of the final research report
o Also includes the title of the study and the date of final defense
o Written in one page only
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Acknowledgement
o Researchers express appreciation and gratitude for the assistance
and help they received in the conduct of the study
o Must be expressed simply, sincerely, and tactfully
o Written in 1 ½ - 2 pages only
Abstract
o A brief descriptive summary of the research report, from the
problem to the results of the study
o Must be written in 1 ½ - 2 pages only
Table of Contents
o Lists all parts of the report and their corresponding page numbers
o Only the beginning page number of each part or chapter is
indicated
o No use of dots (……………..)
o The wording, capitalization, and punctuation of titles and headings
must be consistent with what is written exactly in the text
List of Figures/Tables/Appendices
o Indicates the number and title of all figures, tables and appendixes
used in the study and the page numbers where they are found
o Figures, tables and appendixes should be numbered consecutively
throughout the text
Bibliography
o List in alphabetical order all the bibliographical sources used in the
study
o Authors are grouped according to: Books, Periodicals and Journals,
Internet Sources, Electronic Journals, Unpublished Materials (e.g.
theses or dissertations), and Other Documents (e.g. manuscripts,
manuals, handbooks, government papers etc).
o Follow format, see sample
o All sources/authors used in all chapters must be cited with complete
bibliographical entry
Appendices
o Indicates all the other materials used in the study but are not found
in the text or chapters
o Arranged using letter of the alphabet (e.g. Appendix A)
o Each material serves as a support to the paper
Letters (e.g. asking permission to conduct the study)
Consent Form, Cover Letter
Questionnaire or Instruments
Statistical Formulas and/or Print out of the Statistical
Computations, Pictures,
Curriculum Vitae
o Personal information about the researchers
o Must be brief (one page per member only) and informative(do not
include non-relevant information)
o Picture of each researcher, if included must be formal
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